I scanned news articles from around the state as well as Ohio, to see how the deaths stack up at Chimney Top. The Forest Service reported that between 1960 and 2005, there were 73 reported deaths in Red River Gorge. 19 of those were via falls from Chimney Top Rock. Over the next 11 years, news outlets report another 4 or 5 from atop the rock, including 3 in 2016 alone. In those 8 years, 12 died in the gorge that were reported in the local news, as well as an additional 2 bodies decayed to just bones were found in the gorge.

Last month, Explore Kentucky set up a humble little aid station at Mile 78 of the Chris & Amanda Chaney of Ascensionist Events' Red River Gorge Mountain Bike 100—a gnarly upstart 100-mile mountain bike race. Bursting with snacks, water, & EKI Swag, we hunkered down for over 80 racers all day long.

When your body finally tells you to eat, make your way to one of the gorge’s staple spots. Grab pizza at Miguel’s or a burger at Red River Rock House. Fill your empty stomach and forget to count the carbs, the calories, the grams of sugar in your Ale 8. Meet the people seated with you — the group of businessmen from California, the RRG regulars, the guys who live a neighborhood over from you.

There are many ways to walk on a trail. There are times when I walk in order to talk with a friend, get to know a person. Other times, I walk by myself, wondering as I wander like the Kentuckian folksinger John Jacob Niles. When, at 26 years old, a misplaced Kentuckian living in Montana, I learned how to “bird,” I found yet another way to walk, a way where my tinkering mind quieted, and I could hold each present moment, lingering in the forest, in the meadow, by the wetland, with my binoculars fixed to my eyes, watching wild birds do their secret magic of flying, full of hollow bones, covered in a quilt of feathers.

Typically when I make the scenic drive from Lexington down the Mountain Parkway and into Slade I’m headed for long hikes, high climbs, or calm river paddling in the Red River Gorge. Last weekend, however, I was seeking a unique shopping experience at the third annual Natural Bridge Artisan Festival.

Would you believe me if I told you that I have lived within 15 miles of the Red River Gorge the majority of my life and that at 32 years old, this summer was the first time I ever set foot in it?! I’m afraid it’s true.